Mazel tov: Gina Morantz-Sanchez

Students and colleagues of Gina Morantz-Sanchez recently organized a symposium in honor of her career and accomplishments.

Photo by D. C. Goings

Recently, several former graduate students and current colleagues of Gina Morantz-Sanchez organized a symposium in honor of her career and accomplishments. Five panels presented on Jewish history/studies, women’s/gender history, mentorship, university service, and medical history.

“Gina is a true community builder in the sense that she articulates aims, exhorts practices, and builds spaces for them to emerge,” said Josh Miller, associate professor of English and Judaic Studies, who spoke at the symposium. “The fruits of her work are all around us today—Judaic Studies, American culture, and history at U-M would not be what they are today without her. This is the tradition of Jewish thought and Jewish cultural studies in which I place Gina Morantz-Sanchez. It is what Jewish Studies at its best accomplishes. It is what Gina expects of herself and of us. And I predict it will be one of the legacies she leaves her fields and the U-M community as a whole.”